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SAN MATEO, Calif., April 7, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Epocrates, Inc. (Nasdaq:EPOC), a leading provider of interactive services to the healthcare industry, today announced the recent launch of a new mobile drug sampling service, Epocrates® Mobile Sample Closet. Top pharmaceutical companies, such as AstraZenca (NYSE:AZN), Forest Laboratories, Inc. and several others, will use this service to offer members of Epocrates' network of more than 315,000 U.S. physicians custom sample offers via their mobile devices. In addition to drug samples, sponsoring companies may provide physicians with access to patient starter kits, vouchers and educational materials.

"Physicians appreciate the ability to conveniently and easily secure drug samples for their patients," said Rose Crane, president and chief executive officer of Epocrates. "The Epocrates' mobile drug sample closet provides an excellent service for pharmaceutical companies to complement their sampling strategies and deliver strategic offerings to physicians at the point of care."

The Mobile Sample Closet, powered by SampleServer®, provides pharmaceutical companies with a new way to deliver custom sample offerings directly into the hands of their target physicians. Sponsors may provide individualized offers or tailor programs to reach underserved territories, low-see/no-see targets, and other physicians. Available on the iPhone® and iPod touch® devices, and soon to be offered for Android™ devices, sample offers are easy to access and often present when physicians are seeking support for prescribing decisions.

"Physicians will be able to request samples for a wide range of our medicines, along with savings opportunities for patients, through the convenience of a few taps on their iPhone," said John McCarthy, vice president, Commercial Strategy and Operations for AstraZeneca. "This new technology will complement our sales force's efforts and provide health care professionals instant access to the information they need about our medicines."

According to Manhattan Research, 72 percent of doctors currently own smartphones—and this number is expected to increase to four out of five doctors by 2012. One of their primary uses is to look up prescription drug information at the point of patient care. Epocrates is the leader in the mobile drug reference and decision support space, offering products on mobile devices such as iPhone /iPod touch, BlackBerry®, Android and PalmOS®. The Epocrates network includes more than 1.3 million healthcare professionals, including more than 45 percent of U.S. physicians.

This new service adds to the Epocrates' virtual representative service solution, which supports pharmaceutical sales representative programs, including mobile drug detailing, patient-friendly literature delivery and the ability to contact drug manufacturers directly via mobile devices. These solutions were all designed with physicians' input to improve patient interactions and their prescribing activities.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.

For more information about AstraZeneca in the U.S. or our AZ&Me™ Prescription Savings programs, please visit: www.astrazeneca-us.com or call 1-800-AZandMe (292-6363).

ABOUT EPOCRATES

Epocrates is a leading provider of mobile drug reference tools to healthcare professionals and interactive services to the healthcare industry. Epocrates' active user network currently has more than one million healthcare professionals, including more than 45 percent of U.S. physicians. Most commonly used on mobile devices at the point of care, the company's clinical products and services help healthcare professionals make more informed prescribing decisions, enhance patient safety and improve practice productivity. For more information about Epocrates, please visit www.epocrates.com/company .

Epocrates is a trademark of Epocrates, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks and trade names referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon the company's current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, risks detailed in Epocrates' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in Epocrates' annual report on Form 10-K filed March 31, 2011. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Epocrates does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changed assumptions or otherwise. There can be no assurances that the Mobile Sample Closet will be widely adopted by physicians or will generate significant revenue for the Company.